In a stunning development that some believe foreshadows bigger things this fall, Democrats have regained control of northern Mississippi’s heavily Republican 1st Congressional District — at least for now.

The Prentiss County Chancery Clerk, Democrat Travis Childers, was declared the winner over Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, a Republican, in a runoff.

Childers’ victory means he will serve the remaining six months of the U.S. House of Representatives term left by Roger Wicker, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate after former Sen. Trent Lott resigned in December.

Despite Republican efforts to tie Childers to Sen. Barack Obama, who had endorsed him, and to Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Rev. Jeremiah Wright, he earned a comfortable victory, 54-46 percent, in a chiefly “red” district.

The Mississippi seat had been in GOP hands since 1994. The win by Childers gives the Democrats a 236-199 majority in the House.

After Childers’ victory, normally confident House GOP leaders acknowledged the obvious: The loss of three long-time Republican districts in two months is a setback for the party - and the worst is still to come.

“The results in Miss-01 should serve as a wake-up call to Republican candidates nationwide,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

“As I’ve said before, this is a change election, and if we want Americans to vote for us, we have to convince them that we can fix Washington.”

In a clear swipe at George W. Bush (whom he did not mention by name), John Boehner added, “Our presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, is an agent of change; candidates who hope to succeed must show that they’re willing and able to join John McCain in leading [a] movement for reform.”

Earlier in 2008, Democrats won the Illinois district long represented by former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, who resigned, and claimed a conservative Louisiana district that Republican Richard H. Baker represented.

National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Tom Cole was equally blunt about his party’s prospects, stating:

“Tonight’s election in Mississippi highlights two significant challenges Republicans must overcome this November. First, Republicans must be prepared to campaign against Democrat challengers who are running as conservatives, even as they try to join a liberal Democrat majority.”

“The political environment is such that voters remain pessimistic about the direction of the country and the Republican Party in general. Therefore, Republicans must undertake bold efforts to define a forward-looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for.”

Childers, 50, who made his mark with voters as a “conservative Democrat,” will face Davis, 42, again in the November general election.

That race will determine who replaces Wicker in January for a full two-year term in Washington. Expect the PR and spending to be heavy on both sides - and just maybe, for the now-incumbent Democrat to prevail again.